Jewish Groups Hail Pledge to Bar Bigotry in Election Campaigns

Six major Jewish organizations and 33 Jewish community councils in all parts of the country today issued a statement hailing the fair campaign practices code put forward last week by the Fair Campaign Practices Committee, commending the Democratic and Republican national chairmen on their pledges to observe the code, and urging all candidates for public office to sign and adhere to this pledge.

The statement was released by the National Community Relations Advisory Council, which is the joint policy-forming and coordinating body for the American Jewish Congress, Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish War Veterans of the United States, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, United Synagogue of America and of the 33 community councils.

“We are especially gratified to find in the code to which the national chairmen of the two major parties have subscribed a condemnation of appeals to prejudice based on race, creed or national origin,” the statement said.

“Perhaps no other single abuse of campaign practice strikes more deeply at the fundamentals of our traditions of political equality than the deliberate exploitation of such prejudices. For this divides when union is so sorely needed; spreads hate and mutual mistrust when the nation stands in need of amity and mutual acceptance,” the statement emphasized.